Mario + Rabbids is already one of the highest rated Ubisoft games on Meta Critic (perhaps the highest rated?) in several years. It's been well-received critically and gamers seem excited to dive into it; those who already have it say it's great and worthy of the hype.
So it seems like the grand experiment of Mario + Rabbids (+ XCOM) has paid off. The title was a passion project for creative director Davide Soliani and his team at Ubisoft Milan, with support from Ubisoft Paris. Check out his Twitter (very active ever since E3), and you'll see that Soliani — who became famous when he cried tears of joy at the game's unveiling at E3 — is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve.
You can tell when a work of art is made dispassionately. Mario + Rabbids has no such problems, and I think it starts with Soliani at the top. This was a dream come true for him: Working with the brand that got him into videogames, with the blessing of the dev he idolizes (Miyamoto), in one of his favorite genres (tactics), and with the creative freedom of the Rabbids. It all started when he pitched it to Miyamoto, whose only condition was "no jump games," and Miyamoto has said in interviews that it was Soliani's passion that convinced him to sign off on the project.
The question now is: What's next? Well, first they have to make DLC for the game's season pass, which will even include story content. But after that, do you think there's potential for another collaboration between Soliani's team and Nintendo? What would you like to see them work on next?
Personally, I keep looking at this game's art direction and isometric perspective and thinking, "Man, an honest-to-goodness Super Mario RPG 2 by this team would be incredible." However, I don't know if they'd be interested in making a more traditional role-playing game.
At any rate, I hope Soliani gets to do more work with his favorite Nintendo franchises. Guy's adorable! Here's a pic of him wearing the shirt his team gave him as a gift after E3:
So it seems like the grand experiment of Mario + Rabbids (+ XCOM) has paid off. The title was a passion project for creative director Davide Soliani and his team at Ubisoft Milan, with support from Ubisoft Paris. Check out his Twitter (very active ever since E3), and you'll see that Soliani — who became famous when he cried tears of joy at the game's unveiling at E3 — is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve.
You can tell when a work of art is made dispassionately. Mario + Rabbids has no such problems, and I think it starts with Soliani at the top. This was a dream come true for him: Working with the brand that got him into videogames, with the blessing of the dev he idolizes (Miyamoto), in one of his favorite genres (tactics), and with the creative freedom of the Rabbids. It all started when he pitched it to Miyamoto, whose only condition was "no jump games," and Miyamoto has said in interviews that it was Soliani's passion that convinced him to sign off on the project.
The question now is: What's next? Well, first they have to make DLC for the game's season pass, which will even include story content. But after that, do you think there's potential for another collaboration between Soliani's team and Nintendo? What would you like to see them work on next?
Personally, I keep looking at this game's art direction and isometric perspective and thinking, "Man, an honest-to-goodness Super Mario RPG 2 by this team would be incredible." However, I don't know if they'd be interested in making a more traditional role-playing game.
At any rate, I hope Soliani gets to do more work with his favorite Nintendo franchises. Guy's adorable! Here's a pic of him wearing the shirt his team gave him as a gift after E3:
